| PESTS | Gardeners see moles as ___ but they are very important, however, for aerating the soil and eliminating harmful insects |
| BONDS | They may yield interest but they are very restrictive (5) |
| RATINGS | TV executives think they are very important sailors (7) |
| SELDOM | Rarely, in the day, see moles scamper about (6) |
| WORM | Long, slender, soft-bodied, legless invertebrate, good for aerating the soil (4) |
| WORMS | Long, slender, legless, soft-bodied invertebrates - good for aerating the soil (5) |
| ADRIAN | Mole as a teenager for former presenter of The One Show, Mr Chiles (6) |
| LIGHTSHIP | Its beams are important, however (9) |
| THEME | To me the melody is important however short |
| TUNNELLER | Mole as nun in disguise punching cashier (9) |
| HEARING | They have great ___ but they feel the sound wave as it vibrates along sensory hairs on their body |
| STOLON | A long horizontal stem that grows along the surface of the soil and propagates by producing roots and shoots at the nodes or tip |
| SIEVE | Utensil for aerating flour or, in the form of a chinois, straining custard, jam, puree, sauce, soup or stock (5) |
| CRANE | Superficially, they resemble herons, but they are usually larger and have a partly naked head, a heavier bill, more compact plumage, and an elevated hind toe. They form an ancient group, the earliest |
| EARTHWORM | Invertebrate which burrows in the soil and helps aerate and break up the ground (9) |
| SPINSTERS | "___ are rarely the protagonists in the English novel, but they are oddly abundant in its margins." (2017 essay in The Conversation) |
| FORWARD | Owls can only see straight ___, but they can turn their heads almost all the way around |
| PLOW | A farming implement for cutting furrows in the soil and turning it up / cultivate |
| ORGANIC | Form of farming/gardening without the use of pesticides in which nurturing the soil and compost heap is also key (7) |
| POPULATIONS | By burying animal droppings, dung beetles loosen and nourish the soil and help control fly ___ |
